Energetic Herbalism: A Guide to Sacred Plant Traditions Integrating Elements of Vitalism, Ayurveda, and Chinese Medicine - Paperback

by Kat Maier (Author), Rosemary Gladstar (Foreword by)

YOUR GUIDE TO HERBAL HEALING: A celebrated herbalist brings to life the elemental relationships among traditional healing practices, ecological stewardship, and essential plant medicines.

Features in-depth studies of 25 essential medicinal herbs!

By honoring ancient wisdom and presenting it in an innovative way, Energetic Herbalism is a profound and practical guide to family and community care for those seeking to move beyond symptom relief and into a truly holistic framework of health. Throughout, author Kat Maier invites readers to explore their personal relationships with plants and their environs as they discover diverse models of healing. You'll learn about:

- The elements and patterns of Ayurvedic doshas for greater self-awareness as well as positive lifestyle choices
- The wisdom of indigenous peoples--the foundation of sacred plant traditions
- The relationship of well-being to the seasons through the lens of Chinese Five Element Theory, and how our emotional health is beautifully expressed through the Elements
- The roots and evolution of Vitalism, the traditional Western system of energetic medicine
- Imbalances in the body and how to assess them with the vocabulary of the 6 tissue states, an emerging tool in Western herbalism
- Using the senses as the main tools for navigating through energetic herbalism

Through the rich herbal tradition of storytelling, Maier seamlessly blends theory and practice with her experience-tested herbal remedies and healing protocols. Maier stresses the critical message of how to address the challenge of threatened medicinal plant populations, offering practical and inspiriting methods for ensuring their survival. Many herbals boast a materia medica of more than 100 herbs, but in keeping with an emphasis on sustainable practice, Maier instead focuses in depth on 25 essential medicinal herbs that can be grown in most temperate climates and soils.

Whether you are a seasoned clinical herbalist, an herbalist-in-training, or simply someone seeking to provide the best natural health care for your family, this book is a source of inspiration, insight, and answers you will return to again and again.

Author Biography

Kat Maier RH, (AHG) is the founder and director of Sacred Plant Traditions, a center for herbal studies in Charlottesville, Virginia. One of her greatest accomplishments has been to train many clinical herbalists who have gone onto to begin other schools, apothecaries or open their own practices. In clinical practice for over 30 years, Kat teaches internationally at universities, conferences, and herbal schools. She is a founding member of Botanica Mobile Clinic, a nonprofit dedicated to providing accessible herbal medicine to local communities. The Botanica clinic arose out of her school's free clinic which was one of the first on the East Coast and served as a template for other herbalism schools. She began her study of plants as a Peace Corps volunteer, and her training as a Physician's Assistant allows her to weave the language of biomedicine into her practice of traditional energetic herbalism. She is coauthor of Bush Medicine of San Salvador Island, Bahamas. As a passionate steward of the plants, Kat also served as president of United Plant Savers and was the recipient of the organization's first Medicinal Plant Conservation Award.